The present invention relates generally to display and storage devices, and more particularly, is directed to a jewelry case for storing and displaying rings, with novel ring fingers.
One known type of ring tray includes a plurality of projections or fingers extending from a board and on which the rings are situated. With such an arrangement, the trays cannot be stacked upon each other since the projections or fingers would hit the underside of a ring tray stacked thereon.
Accordingly, ring trays have been proposed in which the underside of each ring tray is formed with recesses between the fingers or within the fingers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,625. Thus, when a plurality of such trays are stacked upon each other, the rings seated in a lower tray extend into the bottom recesses of the next upper tray. However, the rings in the upper tray are exposed at all times, and it is possible for rings to dislodge from the fingers.
As an alternative to the above, other ring trays are known in which a thin fabric sheet is provided in a rigid plastic ring tray, and a foam pad is positioned beneath the thin fabric sheet for holding the rings. The thin fabric sheet is adhered to the peripheral ledge of the jewelry tray, and to the upper surface of the foam pad. After the thin fabric sheet is adhered to the foam pad, a plurality of slits are die cut therein. This results in the foam pad being likewise die cut and thereby aligned with the,slits in the thin fabric sheet. In this manner, a ring can be pushed through a slit in the thin fabric sheet and held by the foam pad. An upper fabric pad having a plurality of openings is adhered to the upper surface of the thin fabric sheet, with the openings in alignment with the slits. However, there are no upstanding projections or fingers for holding the ring, so that much of the ring is hidden during display. Further, since the above ring trays are made from a plurality of different elements and layers, the cost and complexity of manufacturing the same is great.
The aforementioned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/197,189 discloses an arrangement of interleaving of ring fingers. As described therein, the ring fingers are formed as part cylindrical, thin walled, resilient structures extending at an acute angle from the respective base surface and having opposite arcuate, free side edges. However, the ring fingers may become undesirably compressed when the case is closed, whereby the rings will leave marks on the opposite surface. Therefore, it would be desirable to maintain the ring fingers with a preset spacing when the case is closed.